The Mauraders (The Next Generation)
by BellatrixRemairaBlack
Summary: Sirius Black's daughter, Remus Lupin's daughter, Peter Pettigrew's daughter, and Draco Malfoy's sister are here to teach. Bella's playing Sirius's Daughter, Ginger with Remus, Taylor with Peter, and Juliunna as Draco's sister. Twilight was suckish until I got my hands on it. :) Jk. It still sucks! But this story is okay so suck it up.
1. Chapter 1

**Takes place during Harry's First Day at Grimmauld Place. Right after the meeting.**

Chapter 1:

**Normal Pov**

As they passed the row of house-elf heads on the wall, they saw Lupin, Mrs. Weasley and Tonks at the front door, magically sealing its many locks and bolts behind those who had just left.

"We're eating down in the kitchen," Mrs Weasley whispered, meeting them at the bottom of the stairs. "Harry, dear, if you'll just tiptoe across the hall it's through this door here-!"

_**CRASH.**_

"Tonks!" Cried Mrs Weasley in exasperation, turning to look behind her.

"Im sorry!" wailed Tonks, who was lying flat on the floor. "It's that stupid umbrella stand, that's the second time I've tripped over-!"

But the rest of her words were drowned by a horrible, ear-splitting, blood-curdling screech.

The moth-eaten velvet curtains Harry had passed earlier had flown apart, but there was no door behind them. For a split second, Harry thought he was looking through a window, a window behind which an old woman in a black cap was screaming and screaming as though she were being tortured - then he realized it was simply a life-size portrait, but the most realistic, and the most unpleasant, he had ever seen in his life.

The old woman was drooling, her eyes were rolling, the yellowing skin of her face stretched taut as she screamed; and all along the hall behind them, the other portraits awoke and began to yell, too, so that Harry actually screwed up his eyes at the noise and clapped his hands over his ears.

Lupin and Mrs Weasley darted forward and tried to tug the curtains shut over the old woman, but they would not close and she screeched louder than ever, brandishing clawed hands as though trying to tear at their faces.

"Filth! Scum! By-products of dirt and vileness! Half-breeds, mutants, freaks, be gone from this place! How dare you befoul the house of my fathers."

Tonks apologized over and over again, dragging the huge, heavy troll's leg back off the floor; Mrs Weasley abandoned the attempt to close the curtains and hurried up and down the hall, Stunning all the other portraits with her wand; and a man with long black hair came charging out of a door facing Harry.

"Shut up, you horrible old hag, shut UP!" he roared, seizing the curtain Mrs Weasley had abandoned.

The old woman's face blanched.

"**Yoooou!"** She howled, her eyes popping at the sight of the man. "Blood traitor, abomination, shame of my flesh!"

"I said - shut - UP!" roared the man, and with a stupendous effort he and Lupin managed to force the curtains closed again.

The old woman's screeches died and an echoing silence tell. Panting slightly and sweeping his long dark hair out of his eyes, Harry's godfather Sirius turned to face him.

"Hello, Harry," he said grimly, "I see you've met my mother."

…

"This is you house?" Harry asked, his eyes widening. "Oh yes. You see, I'm the second to last Black left."

"Second to last?" Harry asked, but Sirius was momentarily distracted. There was a loud knock on the door.

"Yep." He said, pursing his lips nervously. Molly walked over to the door and opened it.

"Hey!" Sirius said, leaving Harry's side. "Come here Harry, I want to introduce you to someone. Ah, and she's brought friends." Sirius said. Molly, her eyes narrowed with slight curiosity, moved out of the doorway.

Four girls that looked slightly older then Fred and George, moved into the house, glancing around curiously. One was tall, so unnaturally tall that she towered over Sirius with a lanky, wirey build. She was wearing a black sweat shirt that covered her face. Her long and brown curly hair spilled out from underneath her hoodie. One was short and lean, and holding a smart phone identical to the one the Dursleys bought Dudley for his birthday, aside for the blue sparkly case. She was pretty with her midnight black hair pulled up in a hair tie. She glanced around at everyone with a small, curious look.

There was a blonde one, that looked like a gangster. She was wearing a black cap to the side, and there were a few tattoos that they could see, peeking out of the top of her black sweatshirt. She was wearing tight jeans, and shaking her head to the side as if she was listening to music. She probably was, judging by the wires leading from the hair covering her ears and disappearing into her jacket. Her blonde hair was pulled up in a messy bun like tinker bell, but the look on her face surveyed them all with supervisory.

Standing in the middle of them was an averaged height girl, looking very smug indeed. Her hair was hanging on either side of her shoulders in tight, shiny, bouncy ringlets. Harry wondered if she was intoxicated, for she looked to have trouble concentrating on he and the others. As if knowing this, the tallest reached over and punched her on the shoulder. With a spin, the girl was back to normal.

She was easily the prettiest of the group, and didn't care about it. She leaned forward and, almost mockingly, looked to either side of the hall.

"Where's Grandma? I heard her screaming a few seconds ago." The brown haired one chuckled.

The curtains swung open again and Harry threw his hands to his ear, preparing for the screaming, but the woman didn't scream. She pressed her hands up against the portrait and tried to peer at the girl.

"Is this so? Has the last remaining pureblood reminisce of my flesh come to visit?" She asked.

"Yes. Hi Granny!" The brown haired girl waved.

"Finally, a child who is worthy of the pureblood Black name." She sneered at Sirius.

"Thank you." The girl smiled. Molly pointed her wand lazily at the painting, and the curtains flew together.

"Harry, let me introduce you." He said. "That's Bella Black, my daughter. Your new god sister and cousin." He said, and Molly frowned. "Sirius… You have a child?"

"Yep." Bella said, popping her lips. "This is Ginger," The tallest waved a hand lazily. "This is Malfoy."

"Juliunna Malfoy." She said with a sigh.

"Yep, This is Taylor." Bella said, waving her hand to the Taylor, who nodded in recognition.

"Malfoy?" Ron asked, narrowing his eyes. "You wouldn't happen to be related to Draco Malfoy?"

"Yes. He's my brother." She said, and frowned when Ron guffawed. "Why haven't we seen you then? You don't look that much older then him." He said.

"Excuse me? I'm twenty five." She said with a frown. Bella stared at Ron.

"Who the f-! Is this chump?!" She snapped.

"Whoa!" Sirius laughed, and took a small step in front of Ron. "Oh I'm not gonna hurt him!" Bella snapped. She looked over to the kitchen. "Are we eating or what?"

"Yeah. It's nice to see you again." Sirius said, walking forward. Harry wanted to shout a warning when Sirius hugged her, and Bella's hands etched towards her wand. But she stopped and allowed him to hug her, and she patted him on the back awkwardly. "It's nice to see you too." She said awkwardly.

"Oh, its nice to meet you girls." Molly said, walking forward to shake their hands. The kids walked into the kitchen, waiting for Molly and the others. There was only two people in the room. Bill and-! "Mundungus?" Taylor cried out in greeting as she entered. Harry looked down to the man at the end. He was short and wearing a giant plain black cloak. He sat up. "Taylor? No time no see." He said, and Taylor and him clasped hands and shook.

"Did you know Sirius had a daughter?" Hermione whispered slowly, and Ron shook his head no. "Well he didn't tell me." Harry said, shaking his head no. He sat down, and Ron sat down on the other side of him, leaving a space between them.

"This is the first time I'm hearing of this." Ginny commented when she sat down. Ginger walked in first and sat down in that empty space in between Ron and Harry. She didn't look at anyone, nor did she speak. When Ron feebly raised a hand in greeting, she growled from beneath her hoodie.

Then Juliunna walked in, and Ginger looked up. "Sit next to me Jules, there's an empty seat right here." She said, and lifted her hand. Ron flew off his chair and rolled onto the floor as Ginger pushed him. The kids stared in shock. "Ginger!" Juliunna snapped. She ran forward and helped Ron up. "Here, have your seat." She said. She helped Ron back into his chair, and sat down on his other side.

Ginger laughed when Ron rubbed his elbow. "Are you okay?" Juliunna cooed to him, raising her wand. "I can heal your ouchies if it still hurts." She smiled softly. Ron nodded, but frowned at the fact that she was treating him like a child. "Yeah, I'm fine." He said, and then turned to Ginger. "You have the strength of a bear."

"Something like that." Ginger smirked.

"Well if your sure your okay." Juliunna said with a sigh.

"Juliunna." Bill said with a smile, and shook Juliunna's hands. "You know her?" Ginny asked.

"Yeah. We went to Hogwarts together." Bill shrugged. Juliunna nodded.

Sirius and Bella entered next, and both sat opposite each other on the table. "Hi." Harry said, and held out his hand across the table to shake Bella's. She met his eye, and her lips stretched into a glare. Harry dropped his hand very slowly.

"Well," Juliunna said. "What's for dinner, please?" At that, everyone else followed into the room and sat down. "Oh, we're having steak and treckle and for dessert, apple pudding."

"Mm." Juliunna moaned. Though Harry noticed it sounded very strained.

"So," Molly started, taking a seat next to Remus. "How did this happen?" She smiled nicely with a flick of her wand, and platters of foot rushed out of their hiding places and onto the table. Ron's mouth watered at the food, but Juliunna's nose wrinkled. Harry watched her politely take her plate, and figured that as a Malfoy, she was used to fancy courses and a wide variety of choices of food, like at Hogwarts. He turned to Bella, who was turning to Molly with a grim smirk.

"How did what happen?" She said, and Hermione frowned. There was an oddly dangerous glare teetering at the end of Bella's lips.

"How did you find us?" Molly asked, looking to Sirius with a disapproving glance. "Did he owl you, he's not supposed too-!"

"The f… No." Bella finished with small huff. Her smirk was defefenitly dangerous now, Harry noted. And when she turned to look at the table, he could practically feel the waves of anger radiating off of her.

"Beardy sent for us." Taylor smirked. Everyone turned to look at her. She was balancing the fork on her index finger, smirkin at them all.

"Beardy?" Hermione said, looking to Sirus curiously. "Do you mean Sirius-!"

Ginger gave a loud, barking laugh, and Juliunna jumped in fright, her plate and cutlery clattering.

"Dumbledore." Juliunna said, smiling fakily. "Dumbledore owled me, and asked me to get the girls ready for a family reunion at Bella's old place." She said. Harry sniffed the air delicately. When Juliunna leaned forward, he could smell a hint of perfume.

"Oh." Molly said, and then gave a delicate laugh. "Sirius… Since when do you have children?" Molly asked, frowning.

"Since I was fifteen." Sirius shrugged, plopping a piece of steak in his mouth. Bella laughed, but Molly looked scandalized.

"Fifteen?! How old are you?" She asked Bella. "Twenty one and running." She commented. Juliunna muttered under her breath. Harry caught the words "Yeah right… twenty one when… Mark." But he could understand anything else, because at that moment, Ginger turned to Juliunna, who went quiet instantly.

"That's nothing. Remus had a daughter at fourteen." Sirius laughed, and at that moment, Remus conspicuously covered his face. Or attempted to, anyway.

"Really?" Harry asked. "Yeah. Hi… Ginger." Remus added awkwardly. Ginger didn't say anything, but did drop her hood. She looked around at the Weasleys, who were staring at her in shock. She turned to Harry and Hermione, who fought the urge to flinch, as they were terrified.

Her eyes were not human. Her eye color was a hybrid, like a wolve's. Dark yellow and bright yellow flicked around her pupils. Four long, red scars were trailing acoss her face, from top left forehead, to bottom right face.

"Wow. Blimey. Where did you get those scars? From an animal?" Fred asked.

She nodded. "I play rough." Was all she said. The twins both watched her look down at her steak. "Wicked." They both said. Ginger took her hands out of her pockets, and placed them on the table, right next to Harry's arms. Harry's eyes widened at how long and sharp her nails were. So sharp, that if she felt the need, she could rip out his larynx with one thin swoop.

"Are you… A werewolf?" Harry asked. She slowly turned her head to face him, her eyes were narrowed slightly. She gave a stern nod.

"Harry, you don't just ask people that." Hermione whispered to him. Ginger snorted softly.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2:

**Normal Pov**

A lantern came swinging towards Harry and by its light he saw the tall figure of Ginger. As they got closer, he saw two other shadows near her, which he recognized as Bella and Taylor. They were dancing obnoxiously and yelling towards the sky. "Oh whap ooh!" Bella shouted, slamming her hand to her chest. Her voice was deep, and Harry thought she was trying to make fun of an Indian Chief.

"Oopa doopa doo." Taylor yelled back. He laughed.  
>"First years!" Ginger yelled over her friends, bringing her hands together with a loud clap. The sound boomed over the whole station. The first years walked closer to them, shivering slightly in the cold.<p>

"Where's Hagrid?" He said out loud, watching Bella jump on Ginger's back and start howling like a wolf.

"I don't know," Said Ginny, "But we'd better get out of the way, we're blocking the door." She said with a smile.

"Oh, yeah . . ."

Harry and Ginny became separated as they moved off along the platform and out through the station. There was a loud groan of pain from Bella as Ginger grabbed her and slammed her onto the floor, and Harry winced. But in the next second, she jumped up with a laugh, and started to jump on Taylor. Jostled by the crowd, Harry squinted through the darkness for a glimpse of Hagrid; he had to be here, Harry had been relying on it, seeing Hagrid again was one of the things he'd been looking forward to most. But there was no sign of him.

…

The Entrance Hall was ablaze with torches and echoing with footsteps as the students crossed the flagged stone floor for the double doors to the right, leading to the Great Hall and the start-of-term feast.

The four long house tables in the Great Hall were filling up under the starless black ceiling, which was just like the sky they could glimpse through the high windows. Candles floated in midair all along the tables, illuminating the silvery ghosts who were dotted about the Hall and the faces of the students talking eagerly, exchanging summer news, shouting greetings at friends from other houses, eyeing one another's new haircuts and robes. Again, Harry noticed people putting their heads together to whisper as he passed; he gritted his teeth and tried to act as though he neither noticed nor cared.

Luna drifted away from them at the Ravenclaw table. The moment they reached Gryffindor's, Ginny was hailed by some fellow fourth-years and left to sit with them; Harry, Ron, Hermione and Neville found seats together about halfway down the table between Nearly Headless Nick, the Gryffindor house ghost, and Parvati Patil and Lavender Brown, the last two of whom gave Harry airy, overly-friendly greetings that made him quite sure they had stopped talking about him a split second before. Scowling, he turned away from them. Hermione tapped on Harry's shoulder with a mischevious smile.

"Hey, its Malfoy's sister." She said, looking at the staff table. Harry looked up. Juliunna Malfoy was indeed sitting there, right next to Professor Snape. They were talking animatedly, Juliunna running a hand through her hair as she gave a giggly blush at whatever Professor Snape was telling her. Harry frowned, but turned to look at the other teachers.

"Look's like she's got herself a teaching job." Hermione said with a smile.

"… Is it just me, or does Juliunna have a crush on Professor Snape?" Ron asked, watching Juliunna twirl a lock of hair with her finger, tilting her head to the side. Harry ignored Ron momentarily.

He had more important things to worry about, however: He was looking over the students' heads to the staff table that ran along the top wall of the Hall.

"He's not there."

Ron and Hermione scanned the staff table too, though there was no real need; Hagrid's size made him instantly obvious in any lineup.

"He can't have left," said Ron, sounding slightly anxious.

"Of course he hasn't," Said Harry firmly.

"You don't think he's . . . hurt, or anything, do you?" said Hermione uneasily.

"No," said Harry at once.

"But where is he, then?"

There was a pause, then Harry said very quietly, so that Neville, Parvati and Lavender could not hear, "Maybe he's not back yet. You know - from his mission - the thing he was doing over the summer for Dumbledore."

"Yeah . . . yeah, that'll be it," said Ron, sounding reassured, but Hermione bit her lip, looking up and down the staff table as though hoping for some conclusive explanation of Hagrid's absence.

"Who's that?" She said sharply, pointing towards the middle of the staff table.

Harry's eyes followed hers. They lit first upon Professor Dumbledore, sitting in his high-backed golden chair at the centre of the long staff table, wearing deep-purple robes scattered with silvery stars and a matching hat. She turned her face slightly to take a sip from her goblet and he saw, with a shock of recognition, a pallid, toad like face and a pair of prominent, pouchy eyes.

"It's that Umbridge woman!"

"Who?' said Hermione.

"She was at my hearing, she works for Fudge!"

"Nice cardigan," said Ron, smirking.

"She works for Fudge!" Hermione repeated, frowning. "What on earth's she doing here, then?"

"Dunno . . ."

Hermione scanned the staff table, her eyes narrowed.

"No," she muttered, "No, surely not . . ."

Harry did not understand what she was talking about but did not ask; his attention had been caught by Bella, who had just appeared behind the staff table; she worked her way along to the very end and took the seat that ought to have been Hagrid's. That meant the first-years must have crossed the lake and reached the castle, and sure enough, a few seconds later, the doors from the Entrance Hall opened. A long line of scared-looking first-years entered, led by Professor McGonagall, Ginger, and Taylor. Professor McGonagall were carrying a stool on which sat an ancient wizards hat, heavily patched and darned with a wide rip near the frayed brim.

The buzz of talk in the Great Hall faded away. The first-years lined up in front of the staff table facing the rest of the students, and Professor McGonagall placed the stool carefully in front of them, then stood back. Hagrid's seat was very large, about a couple of feet wide. He watched Ginger and Taylor squeeze into the chair with Bella, all three of them smirking and waving at Juliunna, who only had eyes for Professor Snape.

The first-years' faces glowed palely in the candlelight.

**Five minutes Later**

The great old school Hat became motionless once more; applause broke out, though it was punctured, for the first time in Harry's memory, with muttering and whispers. All across the Great Hall students were exchanging remarks with their neighbors, and Harry, clapping along with everyone else, knew exactly what they were talking about.

"Branched out a bit this year, hasn't it?" said Ron, his eyebrows raised.

"Too right it has," said Harry.

The Sorting Hat usually confined itself to describing the different qualities looked for by each of the four Hogwarts houses and its own role in Sorting them. Harry could not remember it ever trying to give the school advice before.

"I wonder if it's ever given warnings before?" said Hermione, sounding slightly anxious. Nearly Headless Nick told her yes.

Slowly, the long line of first-years thinned. In the pauses between the names and the Sorting Hat's decisions, Harry could hear Ron's stomach rumbling loudly. Finally, 'Zeller, Rose' was Sorted into Hufflepuff, and Professor McGonagall picked up the Hat and stool and marched them away as Professor Dumbledore rose to his feet.

Whatever his recent bitter feelings had been towards his Headmaster, Harry was somehow soothed to see Dumbledore standing before them all. Between the absence of Hagrid and the presence of those dragonish horses, he had felt that his return to Hogwarts, so long anticipated, was full of unexpected surprises, like jarring notes in a familiar song. But this, at least, was how it was supposed to be: their Headmaster rising to greet them all before the start-of-term feast.

"To our newcomers," said Dumbledore in a ringing voice, his arms stretched wide and a beaming smile on his lips, "Welcome! To our old hands - welcome back! There is a time for speech-making, but this is not it. Tuck in!"

There was an appreciative laugh and an outbreak of applause as Dumbledore sat down neatly and threw his long beard over his shoulder so as to keep it out of the way of his plate - for food had appeared out of nowhere, so that the five long tables were groaning under joints and pies and dishes of vegetables, bread and sauces and flagons of pumpkin juice.

…

When all the students had finished eating and the noise level in the Hall was starting to creep upwards again, Dumbledore got to his feet once more. Talking ceased immediately as all turned to face the Headmaster. Harry was feeling pleasantly drowsy now. His four-poster bed was waiting somewhere above, wonderfully warm and soft . . .

"Well, now that we are all digesting another magnificent feast, I beg a few moments of your attention for the usual start-of-term notices," said Dumbledore. "First-years ought to know that the Forest in the grounds is out-of-bounds to students - and a few of our older students ought to know by now, too." (Harry, Ron and Hermione exchanged smirks.)

"Mr. Filch, the caretaker, has asked me, for what he tells me is the four-hundred-and-sixty-second time, to remind you all that magic is not permitted in corridors between classes, nor are a number of other things, all of which can be checked on the extensive list now fastened to Mr. Filch's office door.

"We have had five changes in staffing this year. We are very pleased to welcome, Professor Black and Professor Lupin, who will be taking Care of Magical Creatures lessons." He started, and a handsome amount of clapping emitted as Bella stood up and roared. Ginger waved lazily and smiled grimly.

"Yes, yes, and may we also invite Professor Malfoy, who will be taking up a new post of Creative Magic. Professor Malfoy has invented many spells and potion remedies, which she will pass her own knowledge to you. Older students will learn how to make their own spells-!"

Ron bit back his laugh at the look on Hermione's face. It was filled with awe as she and the students clapped heavily.

"Oh I bet this class is going to be exciting!" She squealed. Dumbledore raised his hand again, and the talking ceased into a low murmur.

"And may we say we are excited to announce the arrive of Professor Pettigrew, who is Professor Malfoy's assistant." Dumbledore said, and Taylor laughed. Judging by the look on Taylor's face, to her, she had the best job in the world. There were heavy applause as Taylor waved and smiled.

"I bet she likes it because she doesn't have to do anything." Harry whispered to Hermione, who chuckled heartily.

"We are also delighted to introduce Professor Umbridge, our new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher."

There was a round of polite but fairly unenthusiastic applause, during which Harry, Ron and Hermione exchanged slightly panicked looks; Dumbledore had not said for how long Bella would be teaching.

Dumbledore continued, "Tryouts for the house Quidditch teams will take place on the-!"

He broke off, looking enquiringly at Professor Umbridge. As she was not much taller standing than sitting, there was a moment when nobody understood why Dumbledore had stopped talking, but then Professor Umbridge cleared her throat, "Hem, hem," And it became clear that she had got to her feet and was intending to make a speech.

Dumbledore only looked taken aback for a moment, then he sat down smartly and looked alertly at Professor Umbridge as though he desired nothing better than to listen to her talk. Other members of staff were not as adept at hiding their surprise. Professor Sprout's eyebrows had disappeared into her flyaway hair and Professor McGonagall's mouth was as thin as Harry had ever seen it. No new teacher had ever interrupted Dumbledore before. Many of the students were smirking; this woman obviously did not know how things were done at Hogwarts.

"Thank you, Headmaster," Professor Umbridge simpered, "For those kind words of welcome."

Her voice was high-pitched, breathy and little-girlish and, again, Harry felt a powerful rush of dislike that he could not explain to himself; all he knew was that he loathed everything about her, from her stupid voice to her fluffy pink cardigan. She gave another little throat-clearing cough ('hem, hem') and continued.

"Well, it is lovely to be back at Hogwarts, I must say!" She smiled, revealing very pointed teeth. "And to see such happy little faces looking up at me!"

Her voice was high-pitched, breathy and little-girlish and, again, Harry felt a powerful rush of dislike that he could not explain to himself; all he knew was that he loathed everything about her, from her stupid voice to her fluffy pink cardigan. She gave another little throat-clearing cough ('hem, hem') and continued.

Harry glanced around. None of the faces he could see looked happy. On the contrary, they all looked rather taken-aback at being addressed as though they were five years old.

'I am very much looking forward to getting to know you all and I'm sure we'll be very good friends!'

Students exchanged looks at this; some of them were barely concealing grins.

'I'll be her friend as long as I don't have to borrow that cardigan,' Parvati whispered to Lavender, and both of them lapsed into silent giggles. Up at the table, though it was impossible to hear them from their seat, he thought that Professor Snape and Juliunna laughed inaudibly.

Professor Umbridge cleared her throat again ('hem, hem'), but when she continued, some of the breathiness had vanished from her voice. She sounded much more businesslike and now her words had a dull learned-by-heart sound to them.

**(Five minutes Later)**

She sat down. Dumbledore clapped. The staff followed his lead, though Harry noticed that several of them brought their hands together only once or twice before stopping. A few students joined in, but most had been taken unawares by the end of the speech, not having listened to more than a few words of it, and before they could start applauding properly, Dumbledore had stood up again.

"Thank you very much, Professor Umbridge, that was most illuminating," he said, bowing to her. "Now, as I was saying, Quidditch tryouts will be held . . ."

"Yes, it certainly was illuminating," said Hermione in a low voice.

"You're not telling me you enjoyed it?" Ron said quietly, turning a glazed face towards Hermione. "That was about the dullest speech I've ever heard, and I grew up with Percy."

"I said illuminating, not enjoyable," said Hermione. "It explained a lot."

"Did it?" said Harry in surprise. "Sounded like a load of waffle to me."

There was some important stuff hidden in the waffle,' said Hermione grimly.

"Was there?" said Ron blankly.

"How about: "progress for progress's sake must be discouraged"? How about: "pruning wherever we find practices that ought to be prohibited?"

"Well, what does that mean?" said Ron impatiently.

"I'll tell you what it means," said Hermione through gritted teeth. "It means the Ministry's interfering at Hogwarts."

…

They followed the Ravenclaws into the Great Hall the next morning for breakfast, all looking instinctively at the staff table as they entered. Bella Black was chatting to Professor Sinistra, the Astronomy teacher, and Hagrid was once again conspicuous only by his absence. Ginger, Taylor, and Juliunna were huddled together on Bella's other side, whispering about something. The enchanted ceiling above them echoed Harry's mood; it was a miserable rain-cloud grey.

"Dumbledore didn't even mention how long Bella and Ginger were staying," he said, as they made their way across to the Gryffindor table.

"Maybe . . .'" Said Hermione thoughtfully.

"What?" said both Harry and Ron together.

"Well . . . maybe he didn't want to draw attention to Hagrid not being here."

"What d'you mean, draw attention to it?" said Ron, half-laughing. "How could we not notice?"

Before Hermione could answer, a tall black girl with long braided hair had marched up to Harry.

"Hi, Angelina."

"Hi," She said briskly, "Good summer?" And without waiting for an answer, "Listen, I've been made Gryffindor Quidditch Captain."

"Nice one," said Harry, grinning at her; he suspected Angelina's pep talks might not be as long-winded as Oliver Wood's had been, which could only be an improvement.

"Yeah, well, we need a new Keeper now Oliver's left. Tryouts are on Friday at five o'clock and I want the whole team there, all right? Then we can see how the new person'll fit in."

"OK," said Harry.

Angelina smiled at him and departed.

"I'd forgotten Wood had left," said Hermione vaguely as she sat down beside Ron and pulled a plate of toast towards her. "I suppose that will make quite a difference to the team?"

"I s'pose," said Harry, taking the bench opposite. "He was a good Keeper . . ."

"Still, it won't hurt to have some new blood, will it?" said Ron.

With a whoosh and a clatter, hundreds of owls came soaring in through the upper windows. They descended all over the Hall, bringing letters and packages to their owners and showering the breakfasters with droplets of water; it was clearly raining hard outside. Hedwig was nowhere to be seen, but Harry was hardly surprised; his only correspondent was Sirius, and he doubted Sirius would have anything new to tell him after only twenty-four hours apart. Hermione, however, had to move her orange juice aside quickly to make way for a large damp barn owl bearing a sodden Daily Prophet in its beak.

"What are you still getting that for?" Said Harry irritably, thinking of Seamus as Hermione placed a Knut in the leather pouch on the owl's leg and it took off again. He and Harry had had a row the previous night about him telling the truth about Voldemort. "I'm not bothering . . . load of rubbish."

"It's best to know what the enemy is saying," said Hermione darkly, and she unfurled the newspaper and disappeared behind it, not emerging until Harry and Ron had finished eating.

"Nothing," she said simply, rolling up the newspaper and laying it down by her plate. "Nothing about you or Dumbledore or anything."

Professor McGonagall was now moving along the table handing out timetables.

"Look at today!" groaned Ron. "History of Magic, double Potions, Divination and double Defense Against the Dark Arts . . . Binns, Snape, Trelawney and that Umbridge woman all in one day! I wish Fred and George's hurry up and get those Skiving Snack boxes sorted . . ."

Harry decided it was time to steer the conversation out of these dangerous waters. He was after all, the ones who had given Fred and George the money to make those things. To his horror, Ron started to mention that he was curious where they got the money to buy him his new dress robes. Thankfully, his distraction arrived in the form of Bella, who nodded to them in greeting as she passed. "Bella." He said quickly. "How long-!"

But she continued on in a hurry, a quick run as Ginger chased after her. Harry then noticed that Bella was holding a necklace in her fist as she ran, which must have been Gingers.

Harry and Ron laughed to each other.

The following day dawned just as leaden and rainy as the previous one. Hagrid was still absent from the staff table at breakfast.

"But on the plus side, no Snape today," said Ron bracingly.

Hermione yawned widely and poured herself some coffee. She looked mildly pleased about something, and when Ron asked her what she had to be so happy about, she simply said, "The hats have gone. Seems the house-elves do want freedom after all." She said excitedly. The previous night she had made hats for the elves, and they disappeared in the morning.

"I wouldn't bet on it," Ron told her cuttingly. "They might not count as clothes. They didn't look anything like hats to me, more like woolly bladders."

Hermione did not speak to him all morning.

Double Charms was succeeded by double Transfiguration. Professor Flitwick and Professor McGonagall both spent the first fifteen minutes of their lessons lecturing the class on the importance of _**OWLs**_.

"What you must remember," said little Professor Flitwick squeakily, perched as ever on a pile of books so that he could see over the top of his desk, "Is that these examinations may influence your futures for many years to come! If you have not already given serious thought to your careers, now is the time to do so. And in the meantime, I'm afraid, we shall be working harder than ever to ensure that you all do yourselves justice!"

They then spent over an hour revising Summoning Charms, which according to Professor Flitwick were bound to come up in their OWL, and he rounded off the lesson by setting them their largest ever amount of Charms homework.

It was the same, if not worse, in Transfiguration.

"You cannot pass an OWL," said Professor McGonagall grimly, "Without serious application, practice and study. I see no reason why everybody in this class should not achieve an OWL in Transfiguration as long as they put in the work." Neville made a sad little disbelieving noise. "Yes, you too, Longbottom," said Professor McGonagall. "There's nothing wrong with your work except lack of confidence. So . . . today we are starting Vanishing Spells. These are easier than Conjuring Spells, which you would not usually attempt until NEWT level, but they are still among the most difficult magic you will be tested on in your **OWL**."

She was quite right; Harry found the Vanishing Spells horribly difficult. By the end of a double period, neither he nor Ron had managed to vanish the snails on which they were practicing, though Ron said hopefully he thought his looked a bit paler. Hermione, on the other hand, successfully vanished her snail on the third attempt, earning her a ten-point bonus for Gryffindor from Professor McGonagall. She was the only person not given homework; everybody else was told to practice the spell overnight, ready for a fresh attempt on their snails the following afternoon.

The next class, Double Creative Magic with Professor Malfoy, was a relief. She did not lecture them on owls, but helped them with their spell work. She helped Harry with the correct way to hold his wand during a Vanishing Spell, and to his surprise, it came out perfectly. But his favorite part of the lessen was when Draco tried to get out of his homework on blossoming spells with a compliment, and she told him off. And then when he got fresh with her, she sent him out of the class to Detention. But his happiness was starting to run out when he left.

Now panicking slightly about the amount of homework they had to do, Harry and Ron spent their lunch hour in the library looking up the uses of moonstones in potion-making. Still angry about Ron's slur last night about the woolly hats she had made for the elves, Hermione did not join them. By the time they reached Care of Magical Creatures in the afternoon, Harry's head was aching again.

The day had become cool and breezy, and as they walked down the sloping lawn towards Hagrid's cabin on the edge of the Forbidden Forest, they felt the occasional drop of rain on their faces. All four girls, even Professor Malfoy, stood waiting for the class some ten yards from Hagrid's front door, a long trestle table in front of her laden with twigs. As Harry and Ron reached them, a loud shout of laughter sounded behind them; turning, they saw Draco Malfoy striding towards them, surrounded by his usual gang of Slytherin cronies. He had clearly just said something highly amusing, because Crabbe, Goyle, Pansy Parkinson and the rest continued to snigger heartily as they gathered around the trestle table and, judging by the way they all kept looking over at Harry, he was able to guess the subject of the joke without too much difficulty.

"Everyone here?" Bella barked, once all the Slytherins and Gryffindors had arrived. "Let's crack on then. Who can tell me what these things are called?"

She indicated the heap of twigs in front of her. Hermione's hand shot into the air. Behind her back, Malfoy did a buck-toothed imitation of her jumping up and down in eagerness to answer a question. Pansy Parkinson gave a shriek of laughter that turned almost at once into a scream, as the twigs on the table leapt into the air and revealed themselves to be what looked like tiny pixie-ish creatures made of wood, each with knobby brown arms and legs, two twig like fingers at the end of each hand and a funny flat, bark like face in which a pair of beetle-brown eyes glittered.

"Oooooooooh!" said Parvati and Lavender, thoroughly irritating Harry. Anyone would have thought Hagrid had never shown them impressive creatures; admittedly, the Flobberworms had been a bit dull, but the Salamanders and Hippogriffs had been interesting enough, and the Blast-Ended Skrewts perhaps too much so.

"Kindly keep your voices down, girls!" said Professor Malfoy said sharply, scattering a handful of what looked like brown rice among the stick-creatures, who immediately fell upon the food. Bella peered around her. "So - anyone know the names of these creatures? Hermione?" Bella shrugged, but Juliunna hit her on the shoulder. "What?! Oh, I mean Miss Granger." Bella drawled out sarcastically.

"Bowtruckles," said Hermione. "They're tree-guardians, they usually live in wand-trees."

"Five hundred points for Gryffindor," Bella said excitedly. The Slytherins gasped, and the Gryffindors whooped.

"Bella-!" Ginger started, but Juliunna was already digging her hand into Bella's arm.

"Oh alright. Five points." Bella said, rolling her eyes. Ron barked with laughter.

"Yes, these are Bowtruckles, and as Miss Granger rightly says, they generally live in trees whose wood is of wand quality. Anybody know what they eat?" Bella said. She looked around, ignoring Hermione's hand.

"No one? Okay, well let's see, their made out of wood…. They eat dust! Or any bugs they find on the tree-!" Bella said, and Harry noted she was winging it.

Juliunna coughed and straightened up.

"Woodlice," Juliunna said quickly. "Woodlice kids." Juliunna repeated, and the class chuckled. Woodlice, which explained why what Harry had taken to be grains of brown rice were moving. Hermione nodded and jumped up excitedly. "But fairy eggs if they can get them."

"Good girl, take another five points. So, whenever you need leaves or wood from a tree in which a Bowtruckle lodges, it is wise to have a gift of woodlice ready to distract or placate it. They may not look dangerous, but if angered they will try to gouge at human eyes with their fingers, which, as you can see, are very sharp and not at all desirable near the eyeballs. So if you'd like to gather closer, take a few woodlice and a Bowtruckle – we have enough here for one between three - you can study them more closely. I want a sketch from each of you with all body-parts labeled by the end of the lesson." Juliunna said quickly. Bella stuck her tongue out at her back.

The class surged forwards around the trestle table. Harry deliberately circled around the back so that he ended up right next to Bella.

"Where's Hagrid?" he asked her, while everyone else was choosing Bowtruckles. Ginger turned to stare at him, but Bella turned to him with a smirk.

"Never you mind," She said with a wink. Smirking all over his pointed face, Draco Malfoy leaned across Harry and seized the largest Bowtruckle.

"Maybe," said Malfoy in an undertone, so that only Harry could hear him, "The stupid great oaf's got himself badly injured."

"Maybe you will if you don't shut up," said Harry out of the side of his mouth.

"Maybe he's been messing with stuff that's too big for him, if you get my drift."

Bella and Ginger turned to look at Draco. Their eyes mirrored disgust. "I suggest you go back to your friends." Ginger said slowly, her voice low. Draco narrowed his eyes at her and muttered something Harry couldn't hear well. But he got the gist. "Half breed… Thinks that she can tell me what to do-!"

Ginger's arm twitched, and she leaned down till they were face to face. "You should really rethink the way you think of people. It's pretty bold of you to say that to my face, especially when we both know what I am." She said with a smirk. She lifted a hand and mockingly adjusted his collar robes, her long fingers brushing towards his skin. He paled.

"Draco." Juliunna snapped at him. "Go over with your friends and work." She snapped. Ginger straightned up, nodded towards a laughing Harrry, and then walked back to a group of girls who seemed to have no idea what they were doing.

Malfoy blew Juliunna a sarcastic kiss, much bolder now that Ginger was far away, and walked back to his friends, smirking over his shoulder at Harry, who felt suddenly sick. Did Malfoy know something? His father was a Death Eater after all; what if he had information about Hagrid's fate that had not yet reached the ears of the Order? He hurried back around the table to Ron and Hermione who were squatting on the grass some distance away and attempting to persuade a Bowtruckle to remain still long enough for them to draw it. Harry pulled out parchment and quill, crouched down beside the others and related in a whisper what Malfoy had just said.

"Dumbledore would know if something had happened to Hagrid," said Hermione at once. "It's just playing into Malfoy's hands to look worried; it tells him we don't know exactly what's going on. We've got to ignore him, Harry. Here, hold the Bowtruckle for a moment, just so I can draw its face . . ."

"Yes," came Malfoy's clear drawl from the group nearest them, "Father was talking to the Minister just a couple of days ago, you know, and it sounds as though the Ministry's really determined to crack down on sub-standard teaching in this place. So even if that overgrown moron does show up again, he'll probably be sent packing straightaway."

"OUCH!"

Harry had gripped the Bowtruckle so hard that it had almost snapped, and it had just taken a great retaliatory swipe at his hand with its sharp fingers, leaving two long deep cuts there. Harry dropped it. Crabbe and Goyle, who had already been guffawing at the idea of Hagrid being sacked, laughed still harder as the Bowtruckle set off at full tilt towards the Forest, a little moving stick-man soon swallowed up among the tree roots. When the bell echoed distantly over the grounds, Harry rolled up his blood-stained Bowtruckle picture and marched off to Herbology with his hand wrapped in Hermione's handkerchief, and Malfoy's derisive laughter still ringing in his ears.

"If he calls Hagrid a moron one more time . . ." said Harry through gritted teeth.

"Harry, don't go picking a row with Malfoy, don't forget, he's a prefect now, he could make life difficult for you…" Hermione started, but Harry lurched to the side. Ginger had just ran pass through their group towards Malfoy. Without stopping, she pushed Malfoy hard, and he tripped and fell into a puddle hard. "Ha!" The class burst into laughter. The Slytherins helped him up, and he shouted "Hey!" at Gingers retreating back. "Oops." She called sarcastically.

After a lot of loud snickering, they traipsed across the vegetable patch. The sky still appeared unable to make up its mind whether it wanted to rain or not. "Bye Harry." Taylor said in a lifeless drone as she passed by. He felt Juliunna's soft fingers on the back of his neck as she passed by with a small goodbye. "Oops, almost forgot." She said, turning around and brandishing her wand. She pointed it at his hand, and the stinging in his cut hand went away.

"Thank you." He said with a thankful look, she nodded. "Your welcome. Taylor wait!" Juliunna called out, and ran ahead. Bella had obviously stayed back.

A minute or two later, their conversation was back on track.

"I just wish Hagrid would hurry up and get back, that's all," said Harry in a low voice, as they reached the greenhouses. "And don't say that Bella's a better teacher!" he added threateningly.

"I wasn't going to," said Hermione calmly.

"Because she'll never be as good as Hagrid," said Harry firmly, fully aware that he had just experienced an exemplary Care of Magical Creatures lesson and was thoroughly annoyed about it.

"I mean, of course Bella isn't a better teacher. But I do hope Professor Malfoy stays. We seem to actually be learning something in that area now-!"

She flinched with fright as Harry towered over her with a heated glare. "But Hagrid's the best. We did learn stuff. We-! We learned a lot-!" Hermione said quickly. Harry glared at her.

"Alright." He said, and then turned to look at the Green House. As they entered, Harry, though was angry at the obvious stab at Hagrid, was smiling at Malfoy, who was rubbing his shoulder painfully.


	3. Chapter 3

_**I'm sorry if this chapter seems a little wonky. I had wrote it with the intention of starting a new story, but decided I had way too much unfished work. I tried to alter it a little.**_

Chapter 3:

**Normal Pov**

_**Five Months Ago, When Jacob Black met the rest of the female Mauraders, and Tyler**_

There was a loud knock on the door. Sam strode to the front door, making Emily turn around. In her hands, she held a large pot of cake batter. She turned back to the oven, intent on baking the cake. Sam opened the door.

He almost hissed in fright, but held it back. A tall, hooded figure stood on the small set of steps. Just as tall as him.

She was rigid and pale, though scarily soothing in her demeanor. Her brown eyes flicked over the him with an air of a smirk on her face. Her skin was smooth, and he quickly had to bite back a gasp.

Her nails were pale and long, and looked like they were made for throat ripping. Her eyes were brown, and blank. She was skinny, and had a slight hour glass figure. She wore a long, black cloak, and there was one, stress streak in her brown mane. One silver grey lock, that looked like a spider web string. It didn't mar her beauty, just added.

"The council directed me here." She spoke, and her lips stretched into a thin line. "Are you Sam Uley?"

"Yes." He said, nodding.

Ginger's lips stretched into a fuller smirk, and he bit his bottom lip, wondering what she was thinking. Judging by the blank, yet evil look in her eyes, it was nothing good.

"I'm Ginger, you're the Alpha Male, as of current, am I correct?" She asked. His eyes flickered with brief surprise, but he found himself nodding.

"May I talk to you inside? I'm afraid that there are many things we need to cover. A warning, for one." Ginger said, now full on smirking. She was enjoying his discomfort.

"Yes." He said. He stood back, allowing her to walk into his home. She slowly moved through, her eyes slowly scanning the room. He imagined that she was examining the house for exits, for her eyes lingered on the doors and windows.

She sat down at the kitchen table, gathering her hood and pulling it away from her head. Now that he could see her face clearly, he noted that there were three thin scar lines running from her shoulder to under her collar and dissapearing under her cloak.

Emily shut the refrigerator door, three large glasses filled with cider. At that moment, Ginger realized that Emily was present.

"What is this?" Ginger asked, turning to Sam. "I thought domestic wolves didn't have pets."

Both Emily and Sam laughed, but their laughter quickly drifted off when Ginger didn't join in. She was looking at him with a puzzled gaze.

"Oh. No, not a pet."

"Your girlfriend? Our kind don't usually breed, as evidence as her battle scars." Ginger said, and Emily went pink.

"Our kind?" Sam asked. Ginger folded her hands on the table. Emily placed the two tall glasses in front of them, and quickly took hers to the small island to continue prepping the treat.

"Well Sam, we're both one of the same." Ginger said, and moved her arm. His attention was verted to the long, inhuman nails. "You didn't answer my question. If she's not a pet, what is she?"

"She's my fiancee." Sam said, looking to Emily. Emily smiled.

"So," Ginger said, her eyes flickering over Emily's scars. "Those are some pretty wicked scars. How did that happen?" Ginger asked, turning to Sam. Sam felt uneasy, frowning. "Bear attack-!"

"Cut the bullshit Sam." Ginger said. Emily bit her bottom lip. "As I said before Sam, our kind don't usually breed. And when we do, it isn't for love."

"She's my imprint." Sam said. Ginger looked up from her glass. "Oh yes. I keep forgetting that shifters have different pololicies. I must say that you shifters are the most nicest and tame. Sure you have your slips," Ginger took a quick swig. "But us regular lycanthrobes, well their the real bad boys, the things nightmares are made of. Imprinting, I heard that's when shifters find their mates."  
>"Yes. Their soul mates." Sam said. "The way you talk, makes me think that you aren't human. You're a wolf too, right?"<p>

"Yes." Ginger smirked. She shook Sam's hand, and he marveled at her strong grip.

"But I'm not like you. You can shift from human to wolf on a whim, I have to wait for the full moon. Those precious four of five days a month, I am but an animal. And you are still human when in animal form. I mean of course, that you remember yourself when you are a wolf. You remember that you are still human, and your human brain is more dominant than your animal side?"

"Yes." Sam chuckled, taking a soft swig of his cider. "We do have times when the animal side takes over during our brains. When we have strong emotions of course."  
>"Yes." Ginger murmered, nodding. She brushed her long curly hair behind her head.<p>

"Excuse me Sam, but have I come unanounced? I contacted the Tribal Concil of my arriving."  
>"They told me you were royalty of our kind, and that I was to treat you with the utmost respect."<br>"You got that right."Ginger smirked, and Sam looked down to the hand that was tracing her glass.

"Now, onto buisness Sam. Part of the reason I came here, is for requiment."

"For your pack?" Sam asked, pursing his lips.

Ginger leaned across the table and folded her hands on the flat wood.

"Sam, there is soon to be a battle with some new form of bloodsuckers. Their different from the type of leeches you and your pack are used to. They look, feel, and act differently. These vampires can't come out into the sunlight. Their skin is like a humans. Their eyes are black as night. Any disfigures they got when they changed stays with them. They look downright disgusting too. Theirs always blood from their last meal on their face. Their more animal then human, they don't just thirst, they feast. They like to play with their food. Oh, and once your bitten, you lose your memory. Their downright terrifying to see. They forget english, and they talk in this awful croaking voice. Anyway, I can describe the sheer terror it is to be in their precence, but I'm not going to do that. Sam, I recieved intelligence that the battle will be about wiping out a whole town." Ginger said.

Sam knew exactly where she was going with this.

"You want me to ask the guys to join your renegade army?"

"Yes. Sam, why did you take your mother's last name?" Ginger asked, folding her hands under her chin. Sam smiled, knowing why she was asking.

"I didn't. I suppose you know that the chief line are descendents of the the Blacks."

"Yes, Eprahaim Black... I met him a long time ago... Sam I'm old enough to be your great grandmother." Ginger smirked when Sam raised a confused eyebrow.

"Oh. How old are you, if you don't mind me asking?"

"My birth date is dated back to the year 1600. Way back before there were hospitals are records. I last step foot in La Push in the 1800's. It feels good to be back." She said, and threw a kind smile Emily's way. Emily sheepishly grinned back.

"That is old. Welcome back. May I say that it is an honor to be in your prescense. You are welcome in La Push anytime your here." Sam said, and he and Ginger shook hands.

"Thank you. Alright Sam. Let's go outside." Ginger said. They both stood up, and Ginger's kind smile melted into a twisted smirk.

"I'll be back Emily." Sam said, striding over to her. They hugged, kissed, and looked back to Ginger. Ginger pulled her dark green hood over her head, concealing much of her long brown mane.

"Stay safe." Emily called after him. Sam jogged to the door, watching Ginger walk out onto the small yard.

"I always am." He said. The door shut with a soft click as he started running after Ginger.

"I suppose there will be buisness miss?"  
>"Yes." She said, turning around and stopping to face him.<p>

"I'll be here for the next few weeks. Training your boys."  
>"They have alot of practice." Sam assured her, and they both looked out onto the woods. Ginger sighed. "Normal vampires Sam. These ones are a whole different set of fighting skills. And trust me when I say that these techniques will benifit them and keep them alive in battle longer." She said, and Sam nodded.<p>

"I would be glad to have you train us ma'm." He said with a deep, gravely voice.

"Sam, you don't have to participate in the battle, that's what the regular wolves are for." Ginger said with a smile. Sam raised an eyebrow. "No, I insist. I like to fight."

"Obviously." Ginger smirked, her eyes flickering back to the house. Sam narrowed his eyes at her, wondering what her game was.

"What happened with Emily was an accident."

"Come on Sam. You don't have to play with me... I'm kidding." She said quickly, laughing when he narrowed his eyes.

"Sam, I need your pack here. I will be testing them on how fast they can respond to a gathering. I find two minutes acceptable." Ginger said. Sam nodded. He took off for the trees. Ginger turned to look at the house, winking at Emily's curious face pressed up against the glass. Emily squeaked and turned away.

Ginger turned back to the woods as Sam let out a long howl, signaling the pack members. Ginger took a deep breath, turned to face the house, squared her shoulders, and let her face relax into a stone cold facade.

It must have only been a full minute. Ginger's trained nose could sense them group into a line behind her. They were trying to be as still as possible. There were alot though, unprofessional. She would have her fun. She studied the windows of the house. She could sense Emily inside, washing dishes. Ginger could feel the shifting unease of the men behind her. One of them casually cleared their throat, as if to alert her to their prescense.

"I know your here." She said, annoyed. She turned around.

A long line of fine, heavily muscled and capable young men were in front of her. She grinned.

"I must say. We have some fine specimen here. I don't have to worry about yourselves handling yourselves." She said. There was something about the tone of her voice that told them that she didn't give out compliments usually. The guys grinned, besides themselves with relief.

"Yes." She said, striding forward along the line, her eyes tracing every man and their features. "This could work-!"

Ginger stopped. She had just passed by Paul. Once she did, she could see three of the smallest members of the pack, and she shook her head in disbelief.

"What is this?" She asked aloud. "What the hell am I looking at Sam?" The smiles the pack wore dropped, replaced with unease and fear. Sam cleared his throat, and stepped out of line to join Ginger.

"That's Seth, Colin, and Brady. Their-!"

"Juviniles!" Ginger whispered, her voice stretching with fright. The threes frowned and shifted on their feet.

"I know what your thinking-!"  
>"Guppies. Little babies. Sam, why do I have three little puppies among a line a warriers?!" Ginger said, her already pale face getting whiter. The guys smirked while the three wolves frowned harder.<p>

"They phased early Ginger. They do their work of the pack just as well as the older ones." Sam said quickly, trying to defend the young ones.

"I don't doubt your fighting style Sam." Ginger started, and she was suddenly gripping at the sides of her long mane, dropping her hood to grip the hair tight. "But I don't put puppies on the fighting team." She said, "It's inhumane, and that's coming from the small part of me that is still human! Their puppies!"

"Their fourteen and thirteen years old." Sam said, pointing to each kid of their own.

"Jacob, Embry, and Quill are sixteen-!"

"Leave us out of this!" Jacob snapped.

"Yeah." Both boys said.

Ginger snarled with fury.

"What?! How am I suppose to smuggle minors out of the state? Who's the oldest member?!"

"Paul would be the oldest fighter." Sam said, and Paul nodded his acnowledgement. "I just turned twenty."

"This isn't right." Ginger said, turning to study the others.

"So I'm good right? Its just everyone else who fucked up?" Paul asked, smiling. Ginger ignored him, grabbed Sam 's shoulder, and lowered her voice to a whisper, though the others could hear clearly.

"What triggers the phasing?" She asked. Sam raised an eyebrow out of surprise, but answered quickly. "Great emotional anger."

"A class of children. Puppies! I can't-!"

"We've delt with danger on a daily basics." Embry said. Ginger stiffened and turned around. Sam ran his hand back and fourth along his throat, gesturing for Embry to shut his mouth, but Embry rolled his eyes.  
>"We've all more then proven that we can handle ourselves. Age is only but a number when it comes to us." Embry said. Ginger narrowed her eyes at him, and then looked to Sam for conformation. He nodded slowly.<p>

"Fine." Ginger said. "Each and everyone of you, listen up. I'm sorry for the sore start up, but I do not approve of having minors in my pack. But as long as you prove yourselves, you will continue on this quest with me."  
>"Prove ourselves-!"<p>

Ginger turned to Paul, who shut up immediently at the look on her face.

"Yes. I only allow the best of the best into my pack." She said, The pack's eyes widened, Sam in surprise, the others in anger.

"If Sam hasn't told you already, I will be training you. But he didn't exactly know what. I'm going to warn you all. You are going to hate training with me. I will use hard work and physical discipline, rules that I will make just to get under your skin, and anger to get you where you should be. The best of the best. I will break your childish ways and turn each of you into grown man. Yes, including you three." She said, rolling her eyes at Seth, Colin, and Brady.

"Will we be graded on a point system, or is this pass or fail?" Paul asked, smirking. Ginger turned to him. She stared at him with a peculier look, and Paul smirked wider, enjoying his joke. Sam frowned, the air between Paul and Ginger seemed to crackle with anger, intensifying with each twitch of Paul's lips.

In two long strides, she crossed the space in between then and gripped one large hand around Paul's neck.

All the breath flew out of his throat, and he was instantly thrown to his knees. He tore at her hands, horror and desperartion to live trying to overtake his wolf's need to submiss their Alpha Women's actions. He couldn't phase, and the others found themselves bound to thieir places in silent horror, the guys tried to move to help, watching Paul's motions become weak.

"Don't you fucking move." Ginger snarled, and as if they were like puppets held by a string, their spines went straight abrutely, and they were glued to their spots.

Ginger let go of Paul just as his lung's constricted painfully for almost the last time, he fell onto the ground fully, gasping, sputtering, and rubbing his throat as he caught his breath. Sam, who stood behind her, watched silenty. Paul coughed and gagged, and looked at her with disbelief and pure ahock.

"That just a taste of the discipline you will all recieve if I feel the need to teach either of you a lesson." She said with a smirk. She flexed her fingers, and the guys winced in terror.

"I'm not going to lie to you. My methods may not be to your liking, but they are effective. This isn't about me, or my method of training. It's about what I will lead you to. Hero's you will all be. Don't think about me. Think about the thousands of people who will be, and are being injured and changed and killed at this very moment. Everything leads to the upcoming battle. Now, either your in, or your out. If you are out, walk home now. If your in, follow me. We start now." She said, promtly turning and walkling towards the forest.

Every last shifter followed her down the trail leading to the forest.

...

Jacob opened the door to Bella's room and strode inside, shutting it with a resounding click. Bella turned around with a large pan of fresh-out-of-the-oven brownies. "Hey Jake, made your favorite. How was Ginger?" She asked symphetically, placing the browning tin beside her. Jacob climbed into her bed on his hands and knees, and grabbed the tin.

"Well," he started out slowly, positioning his back against the bed frame, handing Bella one brownie, and started to devour the rest of the tin. "She's a cold hearted bitch for one. Seth's covered in bruises, Embry's got a broken leg, he'll be back to normal by tommorow though, everyone in the pack is either injured in some way or the other. But... We did learn some new stuff. And I guess her physical obedience is working, because we've only been at it for hours and we're all afraid to disobey her rules. But it doesn't stop us from hating her fucking guts." Jacob said. Bella took a brownie, and nodded. "That's Ginger for you." She said with a shrug. "I asked her to go easy on you guys."

"Well with all the good that's doing-!" Jacob gagged on his brownie, and Bella turned to him in shock. "Is everything alright-!"  
>"You know Ginger?"<br>"Well yeah, I thought she would have told you." Bella said, breathing a sigh of relief. "Ginger and I were best friends when we were in elementary school. I don't like to invite her up here because I'm afraid that she'd try and take the whole pack with her to some state and brainwash you guys. That's how she ropes her victims in. Feeds them some bullshit story of something she could solve with a snap of her fingers, tell you she needs temporarily requirement for a a job. Oh, and let's not forget the bullshit magic hold she has on her wolves once they sign over. The bond starts out week, but gets strong over time. By the time its time to come back home from, where place did she say?"

"Alaska."

"Yeah, by the time its time to come back home, at least one of them won't be coming home with you. Your lucky if any of you will make it home. I've seen the way she works Jacob." Bella said, getting on her knees to look him in the eye. Jacob's eyes were wide with terror.

"You mean she lied? There is no battle in Alaska? She's just trying to kidnap us and force us to be apart of her pack?"

"No. There is defenitly a battle in Alaska coming up soon. What I'm trying to say is come home to me Jacob. After that battle, don't let Ginger rope you guys into another one. She's torn packs apart. She's a master manipulator. Once you sign over to her, your hers until the final battle. And its up to you guys to tell her no. Ginger has enough wolves of her own to take care of that army. But she wants you guys, because this is all a game to her. I bet you anything that when Ginger heard that there were a pack of shifters, she was thinking of how convinient it would be to have a shifter in the pack. She doesn't have the do the human shit like open doors, unlock the locks. She could just sit back and watch." Bella said, her lip curling. "I suppose she convinced you and the others that she's for human rights?" Bella asked with a sneer. "Well think again. She's not making an army to save the humans, those vampires are on her bloody territory." Jacob put the brownie tin down and leaned back. He closed his eyes, listening to Bella talk.

"Explain." He said with a small voice.

"Jacob, shifters aren't like the regular Lycanthrobes. You know when you feel extreme emotions, when your wolf side comes to the surface," Jacob nodded, listening to Bella speak passionately. "That animalistic feeling you get? Well Ginger and the regular lycanthrobes, they feel this all the time. Your more human then you are animal, and Ginger's more animal then she is human. Ginger doesn't see people, she only sees prey. I've seen her in battle Jake, it's not pretty. She's a cold blooded murderer, but her human side knows not to act like that around you guys. Did she see Emily?" Bella asked. Jacob nodded.

"You gotta understand Jake, that Ginger enjoys the fear in people. She takes pleasure in hurting people. I bet she liked Emily alot." Bella said, and Jacob understood what she was saying.

"She wanted to compare battle scars." Jacob said quietly. "And she kept making this comments to Sam about the scars, like it was nothing. Or just a game to her. She treats Sam differently then the rest of us."  
>"Because Sam's the alpha." Bella said, taking her long brown hair and throwing it over her shoulder. "I suppose you noticed that she's more polite to him."<p>

"She hits us when we speak out of turn." Jacob commented, rubbing the back of his head and feeling the small bump Ginger's punch had made. "Sam can say whatever he wants, whenever he wants, but the rest of us have to speak when spoken to, or take the consequences... She likes hitting Paul the most." Jacob said. Bella nodded.

"Well yeah, makes sense. If Paul keeps getting an attitude with her, she's gonna hate him the most."

"He does." Jacob said.

"Yeah. Jake. you realize that she's takes a few villiages down per month, right? Don't let her lose her way. Tell the others what I told you, you shouldn't have to do what she says."

"You got that right." Jacob said. He picked up a brownie and stuffed it into his mouth.

"Do me a favor and dont' tell Ginger I called her a heartless bitch." Jacob said, and Bella chuckled. "Sure."

"But I already know." Ginger swung through Bella's open window, and Jacob dropped the pan with a yell and a shout. "No. Please, no more beatings-!"

"Shut up." Ginger said, rolling her eyes. She strode forward and grabbed his neck. He fell to the floor and Ginger laid down in his place.

"Ginger, while your staying in my house you'll treat him with respect." Bella scowled angrily.

"Fine." Ginger scowled, and Jacob stood up off the floor. He looked at Ginger pointedly, though still a little frightened of her. Ginger looked back at him with a small grin that clearly told him that she'd get him when Bella wasn't looking.

"Jacob was sitting here." Bella said with a scowl. Ginger shrugged. Bella climbed over her, standing up straight on the floor. "Come on Jake, let's go downstairs."

** 30 Minutes Later**

Bella leaned out of Jacob's embrace when the door knocked. He pecked her once more on the lips, and she smiled. She grudgingly jumped off of his lap, and ran to the door. Jacob chuckled at her eagerness and watched her open the door. Three people, two girls and one boy walked in. "Guys!" Bella laughed, and the group quickly hugged her and shouted out greetings. Well, the smallest girl started screaming out obscenieries mixed in with a 'Hey!' Bella let go of them with a laugh and walked back to Jacob's side, sitting next to him instead of on him. Jacob studied the small group of Bella's friends.

There was a blonde girl, that looked like a gangster. She was wearing a black cap to the side, and there were a few tattoos that they could see, peeking out of the top of her black sweatshirt. She was wearing tight jeans, and shaking her head to the side as if she was listening to music. She probably was, judging by the wires leading from the hair covering her ears and disappearing into her camouflage jacket. Her blonde hair was pulled up in a messy bun like tinker bell, but the look on her face surveyed them with supervisory. "I'm Taylor." She said, grabbing his hand and shaking it.

Their eyes looked to Juliunna next. She was sitanding next to Taylor, one hand on her waist and the other on Jacob's She was the most sophisticated one. She seemed to be the oldest.

Her eyes were thickly framed with black, luscious eyebrows, doe like, and brown, like bambi's. Her long and slender legs were showing underneath her knee high dress. Her hair, black as midnight, was pulled back into a tight bun. A pair of glasses rested on her nose. Skin like light tinted cream, and lips like pale pink. She was the one with the fullest figure, with strong curves and huge breasts and a large ass. Her black dress hugged her and her curves, showing off two of her best assets. **Well... Three. (Well, I think its four. Two for two, you know…)**

She shifted her ankles, and the long, black heels that she wore clanked onto the floor. She looked like she belonged in an office, a pure business woman. She let go of Taylor and strode over and shook Jacob's hand.

The look she gave him was purely professional, an amused raised eyebrow, a quick shake, and a small greeting. "Juliunna." She breathed out. She then strode back to the couch, sat down, and allowed the only guy of the group to introduce himself.

"Well don't show him too much emotion Jules, we just might have to make you the mascot of Atlantic City." He said with a smirk. Juliunna crossed her arms and looked away, scowling.

"I'm Tyler." He added, shaking Jacob's hands.

He was tall, at least five foot nine. He had floppy black hair, straightened and perfect. His eyes were a deep and piercing, cerulean blue. Juliunna bristled with anger when Tyler looked back at her, shaking his hand with a laugh, his eyes stretching softly as he chuckled. His skin was pale and buff, his muscles stretching as he flexed them.

"Nice to meet you... Tyler." Jacob added, and pulled his hands out of Tyler's grasp. Bella seemed to have the same attitude as Juliunna, for she grabbed Taylor and pulled her close. "Why is he here?" She whispered harshly

"He heard we were coming, and you know how he gets." Taylor whispered.

"I can hear you both." Tyler said, dropping the smile.

"So, where's Ginger?" Juliunna asked, and Bella pointed upstairs. All three of them walked upstairs, and Bella turned to look at Jacob.

"Well Jake... where were we?"

"Not so fast." He said, pushing her advancing face away. "Who are they?"  
>"Remember when I said that I was bestfriends with Ginger at a younger age? Well those are my other bestfriends. Minus Tyler, I don't know why he's here. He and I used to fist fight." Bella said. Jacob raised an eyebrow.<p>

"Yep." Bella shrugged. She leaned forward and pressed her lips to his cheek.

"Why would they come now?" He asked her. Bella shrugged. "I don't know. We all usually go see each other every month or so, but that's in Phenoix."  
>There was a loud thundering noise as Juliunna ran down the stairs, her heels clanking down the steps.<p>

Jacob and Bella turned around as they saw Juliunna, land on the floor.

"Jacob, you need to take me to the homes of those that are injured in your pack. Ginger just hired me as the healer."

Bella smirked. "I'll come with."

Jacob didn't understand the amused smirk on Bella's face as she was in deep thought.

** I know this chapter is all Twilight, but we'll get back to Hogwarts. I might even bring Jacob with me.**

** Please review if you have suggestions, for I love reviews.**

** Love, BellatrixRemairaBlack**


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